There is still time to help out families in need this year with the Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Giving Tree program.

The Giving Tree program is a community effort that gathers toys for parents or guardians who can’t provide a gift to give their children for Christmas. Businesses and organizations all around the Valley have holiday Giving Trees set up with toy request tags hanging from the branches. Anyone in the community is invited to take a tag, buy a gift for a child of the specified age and gender, then return it to the tree for pick-up.

Debby Peterman, a member of Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis, said there are approximately 40 trees across the Valley in places like the North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City Libraries, QFC, Safeway, IGA, Ace Hardware, Farmer’s insurance offices, the YMCA, Umpqua bank, Snoqualmie Valley Eye Care, and the Snoqualmie Police and Fire Departments.

Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis and the North Bend Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints are working in conjunction to organize and run the program, and the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank has offered its location for the sign-up.

Pick-up will be at the North Bend LDS Church, 527 S.W. Mount Si Blvd., North Bend, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, and from 8 a.m. to noon Friday, Dec. 18.

Families who want to sign up for the Giving Tree program can contact the food bank, located at 122 E Third Street, North Bend. The food bank distributes from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays.

“Some of these families are working, need child care and are time sensitive,” Peterman said. The food bank works with them to find a good time.

The setup is similar to the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank’s operation; the toy bank is laid out like a store, allowing customers to shop and choose what they want. A point system scales with the amount of people a guest is shopping for, so people with larger families can get more gifts.

“In addition to the gift shopping we have a raffle for a big item,” Peterman said.

According to Peterman, the Giving Tree program serves about 600 kids a year on average.

If a family misses the sign-up or pick-up dates, the program can still help, she added. The Giving Trees are set up in the community until Jan. 1. Families can call the food bank, (425) 888-7832, to register to receive extra or later gifts.

“We generally have extra toys,” Peterman said. “We still collect all the toys and we store them until next year’s event, or for families who need a birthday present during the year.”

Volunteers help set up the food bank’s shopping room with toys and gifts and price each item based on the point system. They also help with gift wrapping.

Peterman is very pleased that the Valley community comes together to make this event happen each year. She said the program has been running for more than 15 years with the help of community members.

“I’ve been at Kiwanis for 9 to 10 years and it was going on way before me,” she said. “We couldn’t do this without the whole community. I think my favorite part is being there the day of the gift-giving, watching the families pick up presents for their kids. That’s what is special for me, it’s making Christmas special for another family.”